Pilates Exercise Lifestyle

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Wednesday, 7 November 2007

Pilates Exercise Mat Tips

Pilate's Exercise Mat Tips.

A Pilate's exercise mat is probably going to be high on a must have list of things for most people practising Pilate’s exercise, especially for practising Pilate's at home. Most places that teach Pilate’s will have Pilate's mats, for students to use but the real reason to get a Pilate's mat is for your home workout.

Pilate’s exercise mats are readily available in many styles, sizes and colors. I would say have a think about what your needs and preferences really are, before you buy.Pilate's and Yoga mats are similar in appearance i.e they are about the same size and used for exercises done on the floor. A Pilate’s mat needs to be thicker than most yoga mats because there are so many standing poses in yoga, mats used for yoga have to let the practitioner feel the floor. This is not as important with a Pilate's exercise mat. So Pilate's exercise mats are thicker and give more cushioning from the floor. Yoga exercise mats are also sticky, to help prevent slipping, something which is not as likely with Pilate's exercises.

I think a good Pilate's exercise mat should be around 1.5cm to 2cm thick, also a Pilate's exercise mat should be firm, as a mat that is too soft will not aid good support and balance. Good support and balance helps to aid proper body alignment. Make sure the mat is long enough…around 2 metres and wide enough… around half a metre or so, some times they can be shorter, so something around that size would be ok.

You can get Pilate's exercise mats that roll up and also fold up, the roll up Pilate's exercise mats are slightly better option as they can be more compact and easier to carry especially the ones that come with carry straps. The prices of mats vary but a good mat can be bought for around $25 to $50, a good selection is available on line.

I have seen a couple of mats which seem to offer a good mix of value for money and quality.The links are just below, check them out.